Calliope tschebaiewi
The Chinese Rubythroat is a striking passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher and chat family, Muscicapidae, renowned for the male's vibrant plumage. Males boast a brilliant ruby-red throat patch, which contrasts sharply with a deep slate-grey head and upperparts, highlighted by a prominent white supercilium and a black facial mask. Their underparts are white, and the blackish tail features rufous patches at the base, with individuals typically measuring 14-16 cm in length and weighing arou...
Breeds in high-altitude alpine scrub, dwarf rhododendron thickets, and willow beds above the treeline, typically between 3,000 and 5,000 meters. Winters at lower elevations in dense undergrowth and subtropical forests.
Primarily insectivorous, consuming beetles, ants, caterpillars, flies, and other small invertebrates found by hopping on the ground or gleaning from foliage. May supplement their diet with small berries, especially during the non-breeding season.
Chinese Rubythroats are diurnal, often secretive birds that primarily forage on the ground, gleaning insects from leaf litter and low vegetation. During the breeding season, males become more conspicuous, perching on exposed rocks or shrubs to deliver their rich, melodious songs and fiercely defe...
The Chinese Rubythroat breeds across a vast, high-altitude expanse of Central Asia, specifically the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan mountain range. Its breeding grounds extend from eastern Pakistan and northern India, eastward through Nepal and Bhutan, and deep into western and central China, ...
Least Concern
- The Chinese Rubythroat is one of the highest-breeding passerines globally, regularly found at elevations exceeding 4,000 meters in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. - Until 2016, it was classified as a subspecies of the Siberian Rubythroat, *Calliope calliope*, before being recognized as a dis...